Matic and Lukaku quotes

It's not that I'm thread-happy, but I think this is certainly worthy of a thread. The two name-checked players by Jose making some interesting comments. It's probably only a matter of time before we see something leaked by disgruntled players..

Matic quotes
Asked if the FA Cup could save United's season, Matic replied: "I think no. If we win the FA Cup it is good, but not perfect. You have four competitions in the season - if you win one for me it is not enough, but you always have to do your best. In the Premier League, when you are in the first four this is not perfect but is good to play for the Champions League next season. If you win the FA Cup I cannot say it is a successful season, but it's a good season."

Following United's 2-0 win over Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-finals, Mourinho criticised some of his players for being "scared to play" and questioned their "personality, trust and class". However, Mourinho singled out Matic as being "an island of personality, desire and control" - and Matic was equally complimentary about his manager.

He said: "He is special because he wants to win always. You can see when we lose a game he cannot accept that. Probably that's why he won more than 20 trophies in his life. It is very difficult to work with him because he always wants more and more. Even if you win the league he wants to win again next season. He is like this and the players need to be ready for that. At this high level, the players need to be ready for that because the pressure is big. Everyone expects you to win every game. Obviously, it is not possible, but supporters always expect. It doesn't matter if you are tired or not, supporters want high-quality football. It is normal."

Lukaku quotes
"We are Manchester United, we have to improve every year and I know that a lot of players, a lot of good players, will come in next season. That's for sure," said Lukaku after Saturday's win.

"That is something I look forward to, in order to improve the squad, and what the manager also looks forward to because next year we have to win. We will have to try and win as many trophies as we can. I don't believe we are really that short in being able to compete in the big competitions. We knew immediately after the game against Seville that we weren't good enough, so we accept the criticism.

On Sanchez "As long as he keeps working hard like he does, I think he'll come good for us," Lukaku added.

"He is a quality player with a lot of assets. Look at my situation. I started really well and then had the dry spell in November and December. But at the end of the day with hard work you are always going to get through it."

Matic quotes are quality. Exactly the kind of mentality that must be installed in the rest of players. Fa Cup is good but it's not enough and not the real ambition. Pretty sure most of our players will consider it job done if they win it like when we won it under LVG or when Arsenal win it every season. It's a nice trophy but we should aim higher. Matic understands this and wants to show it for the rest of the squad.

I wish our entire squad had the mentality and drive of these 2 players. Matic is absolutely bang on there and I have nowt wrong with anything he said, you always drive for better and never rest on your laurels. Lukaku is starting to look and sound like a leader in the team. The way he was the first to front up after the Sevilla game, celebrating wildy for EVERY goal regardless of whether he was involved or not, never hides from wanting the ball and interacts with the fans on the pitch and other players. If everyone else had the same attitude we would be in a much better position.

Matic
Asked if the FA Cup could save United's season, Matic replied: "I think no. If we win the FA Cup it is good, but not perfect. You have four competitions in the season - if you win one for me it is not enough, but you always have to do your best. In the Premier League, when you are in the first four this is not perfect but is good to play for the Champions League next season. If you win the FA Cup I cannot say it is a successful season, but it's a good season."

He said: "He is special because he wants to win always. You can see when we lose a game he cannot accept that. Probably that's why he won more than 20 trophies in his life. It is very difficult to work with him because he always wants more and more. Even if you win the league he wants to win again next season. He is like this and the players need to be ready for that. At this high level, the players need to be ready for that because the pressure is big. Everyone expects you to win every game. Obviously, it is not possible, but supporters always expect. It doesn't matter if you are tired or not, supporters want high-quality football. It is normal."

He was screaming and shouting at Lukaku early in the game and has done in other games. He usually goes on and scores. That is how to react. You see other managers rollocking their players from the touchline. You either use it as something to drive you on or like some of ours you sink without trace in a game. Matic and Lukaku have the right attitude for Manchester United.

The thing is you get the impression with these two and in particular Lukaku, that the hunger is there and would be regardless of who the manager is. The same with a few others like Zlatan, Rashford, Sanchez...

The manager's job is to get similar levels of drive and hunger from the team as a whole, including the players who need a skight push (or in some cases almighty shove) which isn't whats happening.

Managing would be easy if you could just buy a whole team of players who come ready to go straight out of the box.

Hope I'm wrong and just being too pessimistic but it looks like a split in 2 groups. The ones that obey and fit and the ones that are misused and can't adapt. The Mourinho camp and the rest.

Usually, i would be on the manager's side but since some the players that don't fit are his buys...it begs the question why he bought them if they don't fit. Surely, a compromise is the best solution but i don't think it's possible with the egos involved.

I just fear we might lose top talent because we can't or won't manage them properly. If we bring top talent that fits in return, so be it. If not, however, we'll be at the start of yet another rebuild. This time with the same manager.

The thing is you get the impression with these two and in particular Lukaku, that the hunger is there and would be regardless of who the manager is. The same with a few others like Zlatan, Rashford, Sanchez...

The manager's job is to get similar levels of drive and hunger from the team as a whole, including the players who need a skight push (or in some cases almighty shove) which isn't whats happening.

Managing would be easy if you could just buy a whole team of players who come ready to go straight out of the box.

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But, Lukaku isn't straight out of the box? He has things in his game that need ironing out. The same with Rashford who is very inconsistent.

I'm hard pressed to find any top manager that doesn't demand the right mentality from his players. Wasn't SAF someone who would make sure to screen out the personality of potential signings?

These two know how it is to be Manchester United players. If there are some who feel offended by this and start leaking stuffs to the media instead of proofing if They want to improve then They embarrass themselves.

That's a small time mentality, it's not like They're Ibrahimovic when He was at Barca or something... You want to moan and complain about your manager? fine, if you do your job properly.

It's not that I'm thread-happy, but I think this is certainly worthy of a thread. The two name-checked players by Jose making some interesting comments. It's probably only a matter of time before we see something leaked by disgruntled players..

Matic quotes
Asked if the FA Cup could save United's season, Matic replied: "I think no. If we win the FA Cup it is good, but not perfect. You have four competitions in the season - if you win one for me it is not enough, but you always have to do your best. In the Premier League, when you are in the first four this is not perfect but is good to play for the Champions League next season. If you win the FA Cup I cannot say it is a successful season, but it's a good season."

Following United's 2-0 win over Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-finals, Mourinho criticised some of his players for being "scared to play" and questioned their "personality, trust and class". However, Mourinho singled out Matic as being "an island of personality, desire and control" - and Matic was equally complimentary about his manager.

He said: "He is special because he wants to win always. You can see when we lose a game he cannot accept that. Probably that's why he won more than 20 trophies in his life. It is very difficult to work with him because he always wants more and more. Even if you win the league he wants to win again next season. He is like this and the players need to be ready for that. At this high level, the players need to be ready for that because the pressure is big. Everyone expects you to win every game. Obviously, it is not possible, but supporters always expect. It doesn't matter if you are tired or not, supporters want high-quality football. It is normal."

Lukaku quotes
"We are Manchester United, we have to improve every year and I know that a lot of players, a lot of good players, will come in next season. That's for sure," said Lukaku after Saturday's win.

"That is something I look forward to, in order to improve the squad, and what the manager also looks forward to because next year we have to win. We will have to try and win as many trophies as we can. I don't believe we are really that short in being able to compete in the big competitions. We knew immediately after the game against Seville that we weren't good enough, so we accept the criticism.

On Sanchez "As long as he keeps working hard like he does, I think he'll come good for us," Lukaku added.

"He is a quality player with a lot of assets. Look at my situation. I started really well and then had the dry spell in November and December. But at the end of the day with hard work you are always going to get through it."

Click to expand...

Absolutely bang on, we may criticise Jose for his functionality but he hates losing, just as we do.
That’s a Man Utd trait right there.
Call us entitled, buts that’s what we are because of what’s been built.
Matic and Lukaku are spot on.
Time for the snowflakes (players) to realise that it’s more than potential.
Great Mentality, you can’t teach it.

He was screaming and shouting at Lukaku early in the game and has done in other games. He usually goes on and scores. That is how to react. You see other managers rollocking their players from the touchline. You either use it as something to drive you on or like some of ours you sink without trace in a game. Matic and Lukaku have the right attitude for Manchester United.

Click to expand...

Or the manager actually man-manages the players in the correct way to get the best out of them. Not everyone responds well to the stick.

I wish our entire squad had the mentality and drive of these 2 players. Matic is absolutely bang on there and I have nowt wrong with anything he said, you always drive for better and never rest on your laurels. Lukaku is starting to look and sound like a leader in the team. The way he was the first to front up after the Sevilla game, celebrating wildy for EVERY goal regardless of whether he was involved or not, never hides from wanting the ball and interacts with the fans on the pitch and other players. If everyone else had the same attitude we would be in a much better position.

Click to expand...

Do you not remember him sulking around the pitch earlier in the season, not celebrating his own goals?

However from that time he has been very impressive in his performances and commitment on the pitch.

Do you not remember him sulking around the pitch earlier in the season, not celebrating his own goals?

However from that time he has been very impressive in his performances and commitment on the pitch.

Click to expand...

Yeah I do remember that, and that's one of the things that really impresses me about him. He wasn't doing it then, having a poor patch but has come through that and is showing his true qualities now. That is the attitude and desire I want to see in United players, that in times of difficulty and adversity you stand up to be counted and turn things round, not hide behind others.

But, Lukaku isn't straight out of the box? He has things in his game that need ironing out. The same with Rashford who is very inconsistent.

I'm hard pressed to find any top manager that doesn't demand the right mentality from his players. Wasn't SAF someone who would make sure to screen out the personality of potential signings?

Is that something you can coach into a player? I'm not sure.

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I meant mentally. I don't think you can really question the mentally of the likes of Lukaku and Matic, or even someone like Rashford who always works hard on the pitch and who you only ever hear good things about from managers, coaches, players, etc.

You need to get the riight mentality out of players, but they don't all come instilled with it...and it's pretty clear Jose isn't getting it from them at this point. People go on about his tactics, but whatever the tactics, the players just look lethargic. They look like they're warming up for the game instead of playing in it.

Of coourse the have to take criticism foor that, because to be frank iit's bordered on being absolutely pathetic at times, but it's the manager's job to cut it out. I don't think you'll find many squads of players where you have 10+ Lukakus or Matics who more or less don't need to be managed or motivated.

You also have to keep in mind that we've signed a lot of players under Jose, and somme of them are clearly in the category of players who don't have this mentality, so if it's such an important aspect for him to have players who come with the mentality ready made, why is the club happy for us to sign players who don't have it?

Yeah I do remember that, and that's one of the things that really impresses me about him. He wasn't doing it then, having a poor patch but has come through that and is showing his true qualities now. That is the attitude and desire I want to see in United players, that in times of difficulty and adversity you stand up to be counted and turn things round, not hide behind others.

Hope I'm wrong and just being too pessimistic but it looks like a split in 2 groups. The ones that obey and fit and the ones that are misused and can't adapt. The Mourinho camp and the rest.

Usually, i would be on the manager's side but since some the players that don't fit are his buys...it begs the question why he bought them if they don't fit. Surely, a compromise is the best solution but i don't think it's possible with the egos involved.

I just fear we might lose top talent because we can't or won't manage them properly. If we bring top talent that fits in return, so be it. If not, however, we'll be at the start of yet another rebuild. This time with the same manager.

Click to expand...

Yeah he does deserve criticism for that but i still firmly believe not all players have the mentality to play for us so I'm with Jose in that we need guys like Lukaku and Matic and less of the other sort.

I think Jose has shown he can instil it in some of our players but we all know he's not good at utilising those who aren't 100% dedicated. Do we as fans want those giving less than 100% though?